I was rummaging through my backing fabrics to find backing for the Red & Black Improv quilt. I was surprised to find a small top tucked in between the fabrics. I don’t remember making it at all. It had to be some kind of experiment that I made in the late 1990s.
It is rectangular and needs more work. I don’t think I want to work on it, but it is a good and cheerful. I think I will donate it to the BAMQG charity project.
I am kind of shocked that I found this top where I did. It is so strange that I don’t remember it as well.
It does remind me that I used to experiment quite a bit. Perhaps I should work on that again.
Bron was kind enough to give me some fleece from FabMo a few months ago. Last Saturday it fell on me from its precarious perch in the Fabric Closet one too many times. I pulled it, and the pattern out, cut all the fleece up into the shapes needed for cat beds and began sewing.
Boring Cat Bed
My intent was to make a bunch of them and present them to Amanda at the next BAMQG meeting. My machine sincerely disliked that fleece as did my hand, so I made one and put the rest of the parts into packages to bring to the meeting. What Amanda got was a sad email explaining the situation. 🙁
She was very gracious about it and said to bring the parts for the other cat beds for other BAMQG members to make.
I was able to finish one [boring looking] cat bed and stuff it nearly 3/4s of the way full with schnibbles.
Yes. More donation blocks. They were part of my sewing work over the past two weekends. I am now out of cut background squares so I will need to cut more. I have some blue dottish on white fabric scraps leftover from the Star Sampler, which I might use. Since they are scraps, they won’t go far and will be a stopgap.
These are on the dull side. I cut up a bunch of foreground fabrics some time ago. I didn’t feel like I wanted to use those fabrics in a quilt and am working my way through them for donation blocks. Someone will like them, right?
I am not doing that again. I decided that if I have fabric I don’t want to use, I’ll just donate it rather than using it like this. It isn’t enjoyable and I want to infuse these donation blocks good energy so that is my plan.
Since BIL died back in June, a number of us (SIL, Nephew #12, YM, DH) go over to MIL’s and have dinner on Wednesdays when we are available. We use it as a time to catch up. We are also trying to keep Wednesdays (when BIL would go over and have drinks with his mom) from being too sad.
The other Wednesday SIL told us that she was, once again, in charge of the Secret Santa Shop at her son’s school. This is an event to raise money for the school, but also to provide an opportunity for the kids to buy nice gifts that aren’t too expensive.
The first year she did it, they contracted with a company to provide the gifts and she, as well as other parents, proclaimed them to be junk. Some broke as the helpers were bringing them to the wrapping table. Also, the prices were already on the high side so the PTA couldn’t mark the prices up and still keep the gifts affordable for kids, thus they were not able to make much money.
Last year, they scoured shops and websites for nicer gifts that were of good quality. She said that it was a lot more work, but it paid off in that they also made over $3000!
Tissue Cover Backs
Upon hearing this, I thought of the gift ideas list I made last year (?) and, more specifically, of the tissue covers that Valerie inspired me to make. I went home and started cutting fabric. I finished 9 the next day and sent them off.
I might make some more, but we will see. It might be good to see if they sell and then make more next year. On the other hand, it might be good to make a bunch so at least one person from each grade can buy one. We’ll see what SIL says.
I am going to try and think about other gifts that might work. The problem is that I am used to making bags, cushions or gifts that quiltmakers like. The people at the school are not quiltmakers and the gifts have to be small, so I need to think a little harder.
My last batch will make a cohesive quilt. This group less so. I had one leftover from the previous batch. When I returned home from the meeting on Saturday, I decided to cut up some cream and green squares for a background and make more donation blocks.
I pulled out a small bin of 2.5″ squares that I cut up for donation quilts a thousand years ago and began using those to make more squares. There is a lot of blue.
Last Lone Green & Grey Donation Block
The blocks are interesting. They aren’t as cohesive, as I said, but they make an interesting group of blocks. I don’t know that they will all be put together in the same group.
I made more donation blocks last Saturday as I worked on sewing together the FOTY 2014 patches. I thought green would be good and chose a lot of medium greens, though I had to use some darker pieces as my green scrap basket dwindled. I used, mostly, grey for the background. As you will, a little pink and some other colors crept in.
Using the leaders and enders technique, I just kept sewing the 2.5″ squares in between the FOTY 2014 patches and came up with all of these donation blocks. I joked about making enough for a whole quilt, never thinking I would be able to do it. I am close, though, especially with the blocks from the other day.
I saw a quilt on Valerie’s Twitter feed that has these blocks with Flying Geese on the outside to make them into stars. I am sorely tempted, but I have so many projects that I am going to force myself just to turn these blocks in and let someone else make a pretty quilt.
I am very pleased that this will be a quilt (or quilts) that will make someone happy.
Unlike Pam, I do not have piles of 2.5″ squares laying around, though I am starting to think I should. I cut the foreground squares from a FQ I found that I won’t use in a quilt. I decided to make the blocks, because I had some leftovers from a One Hour Basket I made. That fabric became the background. There isn’t a ton of contrast, but they are pleasant blocks. The best part is they will go to a good cause. I haven’t done as much charity work this year and it makes me feel good to add to the BAMQG charity pile.
As I started to sew the FOTY 2014 together on Friday (started last week, but got really serious on Friday), I realized that I needed leaders and enders. After I sew each FOTY pair, I need to sew something in between so that I can keep the FOTY patches in order. I have been using the Octagon 9 Patch as leaders and enders pretty regularly, but I am at a weird place with that project, so for the moment it won’t work. I gave away a bunch of my neutrals, but dug around and found some suitable greys for more donation blocks. I used leftovers of some Bonnie and Camille greys. They are a little too taupe for me, so I have been using them for projects I don’t plan to keep. Since I also have a lot of green scraps, which I don’t use much, I cut some random 2.5″ squares from those and made a couple of blocks.
Green & Grey Donation Blocks
Now I have a random thought to make 12 more and have enough for a quilt. I suppose it is possible since FOTY has a lot of pairs needing sewing, but the cutting of the 2.5″ squares – enough to make a quilt before next week is a little daunting.
I think it will be better if I get over my Octagon Nine Patch hump so I can make progress on that project, not that donation blocks are a bad thing.
I finished a donation top and back over the weekend. I thought I had posted something about this, but I couldn’t find the post. I think I must have only posted on Twitter and Instagram about it.
I wanted to use up the Flower Sugar fabrics from Lecien that I used for the Flower Sugar Hexagon (Attack of the Hexies) quilt. I thought a donation quilt would be a good opportunity.
I really want to make donation quilts that can be used for boys, but I also, as I said, wanted to use up this fabric. I don’t think I will use this fabric again, except for some of the blues, perhaps, which I really like. Also, the fabric isn’t really great in terms of quality. Some parts of the fabrics were sun damaged waiting to be used despite the fact that they were covered.
The other fabric I don’t think I will use again was some of the greys from a couple of recent-ish Bonnie and Camille collections. They turned out to be too taupe-y for my projects, so off they go to donation quilts.
I will making the binding and then bring this to the meeting to be quilted. I will see if I have enough batting parts to make a Franken-batting as well.
The BAMQG Hawaiian quilts are still in process. Several have been delivered to the family and they were beyond thrilled. The rest are due by the end of August.
A few weeks ago Kelly and I met for lunch. She gave me one that needed to be bound. In the thick of my injury I couldn’t do it right away and it languished. Angela needed to send me the binding, so I didn’t worry. She did and it was time to get to work.
Last weekend was the weekend of little projects: strip for the Food Quilt #2 back strip, journal cover, Stepping Stones blocks, a lanyard, etc. I added the Hawaiian Quilt binding to the list.
Emboldened by last effort at machine binding, I did a machine binding again as well. Also, with my hand in a brace, hand stitching takes abut 15x as long. Angela and Kelly were fine with the machine binding so I was off.
I did a much simpler machine binding this time. I just used a straight stitch on the back rather than a decorative stitch. The stitching shows on the binding, but isn’t obvious on the front, which is great.
Trimming for binding
The quilt came to me untrimmed, so I put the binding on and then trimmed. I used my regular Aurifil #2600 piecing thread to sew the binding on the front. It did not blend, but would be covered once the binding was flipped so I didn’t worry.
It occurs to me now that I could have trimmed, put the binding on the back and then flipped the binding to the front. I might try that next time just to see how it looks.
Hawaiian Quilt Back
These are very bright and cheerful quilts. I am really pleased to be able to help the guild work on them.
Really, the only thing Amanda is getting out of me in terms of this cat bed is scraps. She made the cat bed and all I did was transfer my overflowing scrap bag into it. That is certainly something, but I have to get myself in gear to made some more cat beds for her.
It is pretty and I do like the fabric combination Amanda chose.
There never seems to be a shortage in people who need a nice hug in the form of a quilt. I made three blocks for two different projects over the weekend.
I started the stars weeks ago by making Sawtooth Stars with a four patch in the middle. I made one when I did the Star Sampler and really liked it. The problem with the version for this lovey was that I tried to use the Deb Tucker ruler AND include the 4 patches in the middle. It was too difficult for my brain to process.
For a few weeks I did nothing, but when I got the call for the heart lovey block and I knew I had to get my act together and get those star blocks done. I decided just to make some basic Sawtooth Stars with super great fabric. I hope that these work out well.
Lovey Heart Block
I got an idea for a heart block as soon as I heard the maker wanted hearts. I knew that machine applique’ was the best way to go. Fast, too.
At first, I thought I would just do the large heart, but when I finished, I thought it wasn’t enough, so I added the blue hearts. They were made from scraps, but they added something to the large heart. I think the little hearts added interest.
If you are asked to make a block for a lovey quilt, please consider making one. One block and little bit of fabric can make all the difference in the world.
I finally got my act together to put the postage stamp blocks together. I really was feeling like I didn’t have anything to show at the BAMQG meeting, so I decided on Friday night to get these blocks together. I used leftover pieces from another quilt for the sashing. I really didn’t think about the piece too much; I just sewed. Yesterday morning I finished the border and made the back.
Gerre and I made them together back in February. We used them pieces as leaders and enders as needed when we made the Hawaiian quilt. I don’t see any mention of these blocks, so who really knows?
I wanted to try a different setting that the other versions of the postage stamp donation quilt tops I have made. I was going for a row quilt kind of look. I used different widths of sashing for the vertical pieces, because I used what I had. It isn’t my best work, but it was very intuitive and quick. I think that it was kind of amazing that I was able to let the control go and just put the piece together. You can see that there are squares of the same fabrics near each other. Normally, I would have spread them out. Essentially, I just put the blocks on the floor and sewed them together. Kind of bare bones sewing. I hope someone will like its quirkiness.
To be honest, I haven’t really sewn seriously for quite a while. I have sewn a couple of EPP stars and used the opportunity of this piece to make some more O9P nine patches, but nothing else. It felt really good to throw this together. Very freeing.
Multi-color Donation Quilt back (April)
The back is made from greys that I pulled out of my grey bin. They are older fabrics in the depressing color range of grey. Summer is coming and I find myself divesting myself of colors deemed too depressing and working with even brighter colors than usual.
We are embroiled in college business/drama/selection. Of course, I have other stuff going on as well, but the college stuff seems to be dominating at the moment. This means that my quilt work is suffering and, particularly, my donation and charity projects.
I finally did spend some time a week or so ago finishing this Hawaiian quilt for BAMQG. You might remember that Gerre and I worked on it at a Sew Day recently.
I blather on about testing new techniques and practicing skills on donation quilts then I never do it. I tried something new on this quilt. I tested out applying a binding by machine on both sides. My first effort resulting in me ripping out 3-4′, but I persevered and the quilt is bound by machine.
I made sure that Gerre and Angela were both ok with me doing the machine binding. It requires some more experimentation on my part, but I am pleased with my first effort.
BAMQG Hawaiian Quilt by Gerre & Jaye
None of the fabrics were my choices, but I like the brightness against the black and especially think the back came out well.
As usual, I am really happy to help the guild. As usual, the Young Man worked hard as my quilt hanger.
Yes, shockingly I finished something. It seems like it took forever! I know it didn’t take forever, because we made the top on January 4.
I made the back, as I mentioned, then I sent it off to Gerre with a Frankenbatting and she quilted it. I got it back and put the binding on. It really went very quickly once I sat down and sewed the binding. <It went much better than the quilt in front of it with a batik back AND binding. What was I thinking?>
The back came out pretty well and wasn’t a misery to put together. I am still uncomfortable not putting a label on these donation quilts, but I hope that documenting the quilt here will help historians some day. If the quilt is just loved to death then that will be enough.
Pink T Quilt back
I was able to use up some pinks and make a fun quilt. I am already thinking about what color to cut next. I am not a big fan of green, but I have a lot of green. If I cut orange to go with it, it would be really different and might appeal to someone who walks to the beat of a different drummer.
I finally finished the top and back of the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt. Whew! I am very pleased and while I was anxious to get it done I never got to the point where I disliked the piece. I am glad, because I want all of my donation quilts to have good energy in them not “get this done, stupid quilt!” energy. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but better safe than sorry.
I checked back and the first post about this quilt was back in January of last year. I know I started making it using these colors, because I was grieving for my grandmother. I think I became anxious to get it finished, because the grief, while not gone, is much better. I think she would be pleased to know that I did something good with the grief. Perhaps not as she didn’t think too deeply about feelings, but I like to think it.
The quilt is approximately 65.5″ square.
Black & Grey Donation Back Complete
I also made the back, which I think came out pretty well. Sort of symmetrical, which is different for me. It is a touch small, so I may have to add something to the side, but I am hoping the quilter can deal with it.
I am not sure how I am going to convince someone to quilt it for the guild. I am nervous because there were a lot of quilts waiting to be quilted at the last meeting.
I still have to make the binding, but I picked some fabric to use and will get that done soon.
